Russian Federation
http://www.fao.org/docrep/w6240e/w6240e16.htm
Geography and population
With a total area of over 17 million km2, the Russian Federation
is the largest country in the world. It covers the eastern part of
Europe and the northern part of Asia. It has access to the Arctic
Ocean in the north, the Pacific Ocean in the east, the Black
Sea and the Caspian Sea in the southwest, and the Baltic Sea
in the northwest. It borders 14 countries: Korea DPR, China,
Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus,
Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway and, with the province (oblast)
of Kaliningrad, Poland and Lithuania.
TABLE 1
Basic statistics and population
Physical areas:
Area of the country
1994
1 707 540
ha
000
Cultivable area
1994
686 900
ha
000
Cultivated area
1994
116 900
ha
000
- annual crops
1994
114 900
ha
000
- permanent crops
1994
2 000 000
ha
1996
148 126
inhab.
Population:
Total population
000
Population density
1996
9 inhab./km2
Rural population
1996
24
%
1996
12
%
of which: - men
1994
62
%
- women
1994
38
%
Urban population
1994
84
%
Rural population
1994
33
%
Economically active
population
engaged in agriculture
Water supply coverage:
The Soviet Union came to an end in late 1991 and the Russian
Federation emerged as one of the 15 newly independent
former Soviet republics. Administratively, the Russian
Federation is divided into 89 units, which are autonomous and
self-governing members of the Russian Federation. Each unit
has a separate agreement with the Russian Federation and,
usually, a differing degree of autonomy. The Russian
Federation is also divided into 11 economic regions, plus
Kaliningrad, presently considered as the twelfth region and
which previously formed one economic region with the Soviet
republics of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
The Russian Federation is exceptionally rich in natural
resources. It is a major producer of most types of minerals and
for many of them it is the world's leading producer and exporter.
In particular, the Russian Federation has vast reserves of fuels
and metal ores, including significant deposits of gold-bearing
ore. The agricultural production potential is distributed
extremely unevenly and is limited mainly to the south of the
European part and small areas on the southern fringes of
Siberia as well as areas in the far east region. This distribution
reflects the zonal diversification of the natural environment,
from ice deserts in the north, through tundra, coniferous woods
(taiga), mixed woods, to the fragments of steppes and semideserts in the south.
The Russian Federation is formed of three vast, low plains: the
east European plain and the west Siberian plain, divided by the
Ural mountains, and the Caspian plain in the south. In the
northern part of the lowlands there are young glacial formations
and swamps, especially in the west Siberian plain. South of the
lowlands there is a belt of loess with fertile black soils. In the
European part, there are poor semi-desert and desert soils
south of the loess belt. In central and southern Siberia and in
the far east, mountains of medium height predominate, with a
peak of 4 506 m above sea level (Bielukha in Altay). The
highest mountains are situated in the Caucasus (up to 5 642 m
above sea level).
See map of the Russian Federation
TABLE 2
Water: sources and use
Renewable water resources:
Average precipitation
Internal renewable water
mm/yr
10 057
km3/yr
4 km3/yr
resources
Total (actual) renewable water
589
312.70
1997
resources
4 km3/yr
498.24
Dependency ratio
1997
4.1
%
Total (actual) renewable water
1996 30 368
m3/yr
resources per inhabitant
Total dam capacity
1992
360 106 m3
000
Water withdrawal:
- agricultural
1994 15 300
106
m3/yr
- domestic
1994 14 300
106
m3/yr
- industrial
1994 47 500
106
m3/yr
Total water withdrawal
77 100
106
m3/yr
per inhabitant
as % of total (actual)
1994
518
m3/yr
1.7
%
1992 7 430
106
renewable water resources
Other water withdrawal
m3/yr
Wastewater - Non-conventional
sources of water:
Wastewater:
- produced wastewater
1990 33 880
106
m3/yr
- treated wastewater
1990 5 080
106
m3/yr
- re-used treated wastewater
-
106
m3/yr
Agricultural drainage water
-
106
m3/yr
Desalinated water
-
106
m3/yr
Russian statistics consider the area of lands belonging to all
kinds of agricultural farms as an equivalent to cultivable land. In
1994, this area amounted to almost 687 million ha, which is
40% of the total area of the country. The cultivated area was
estimated at almost 117 million ha, including almost
115 million ha of annual crops and 2 million ha of permanent
crops.
Beginning in late 1990, a set of laws, decrees and resolutions
opened the way for land reform in the Russian Federation. This
legislation established the right to private ownership of land,
restructured sovkhoz (state farms) and kolkhoz (collective
farms), and laid the legal basis for the establishment and
operation of private family farms. However, in 1995, less than
5% of the agricultural land was occupied by family farms
(Figure 1).
The total population is about 148 million (1996), of which 24%
is rural. The population growth was low in the 1980s, falling to 0.6% in 1994. The average population density is about
9 inhabitants/km2. The most densely populated area is the
central region, where the capital Moscow is located, with
62 inhabitants/km2, followed by Kaliningrad with
61 inhabitants/km2. The least densely populated regions are
eastern Siberia and the far east with 2 and 1 inhabitants/km2
respectively. About 76% of the total population is urban and it is
estimated that about 74% of the population lives in cities and
large towns.
TABLE 3
Irrigation and drainage
Irrigation potential
1990
29 000
000
Irrigation:
ha
1. Full or partial control
1990
irrigation: equipped area
- surface irrigation
6 124
ha
000
1990
245
ha
000
- sprinkler irrigation
1990
5 879
ha
000
- micro-irrigation
1990
% of area irrigated from
0
ha
-
%
-
%
-
%
79
%
-
ha
-
ha
5 158
ha
groundwater
% of area irrigated from
surface water
% of area irrigated from
non-conventional
sources
% of equipped area actually
1994
irrigated
2. Equipped wetland and
inland valley bottoms (i.v.b.)
3. Spate irrigation
Total irrigation (1+2+3)
1994
000
- as % of cultivated area
4.4
%
- increase over last 10 years
198594
- power irrigated area as % of
minus
%
11
-
%
Large-scale schemes
-
ha
Medium-scale schemes
-
ha
Small-scale schemes
-
ha
Total number of households
-
irrigated area
Full or partial control irrigation
schemes:
in irrigation
Irrigated crops:
Total irrigated grain
-
t
-
%
4 095
ha
production
as % of total grain
production
Harvested crops under
1994
irrigation
000
- permanent crops: total
1994
0
ha
- annual crops: total
1994
4 095
ha
000
. fodder crops
1994
2 553
ha
000
. cereals and pulses
1994
1 217
ha
000
. potatoes and
1994
208
vegetables
000
. industrial plants (mainly 1994
117
sugar beet)
000
ha
ha
Drainage - Environment:
Drained area
1994
5 027
ha
000
- drained area in full or
1990
partial control irrigated
1 286
ha
000
areas
- drained area in
-
ha
-
ha
3 238
ha
equipped wetland and
i.v.b.
- other drained area
- area with subsurface drains
1990
000
- area with surface drains
1990
4 161
ha
000
Drained area as % of
cultivated area
-
%
Power drained area as % of
-
%
Area salinized by irrigation
-
ha
Population affected by water-
- inhabitants
total drained area
borne diseases
The largest city is Moscow with 8.8 million inhabitants, followed
by Saint Petersburg with 4.9 million inhabitants and 11 cities of
1-2 million inhabitants.
In 1996, agriculture employed 12% of the economically active
population. In 1994, women made up 51% of the total labour
force. In 1994, 38% of the total labour force was engaged in
agriculture, down from 42% in 1980. About 11% of the total
female labour force and 18% of the total male labour force is
engaged in agriculture. In 1993, agriculture accounted for 16%
of GDP. Inflation reached 880% in 1993, 320% in 1994 and
150% in 1995.
Climate and water resources
Climate
Seven climatic zones can be distinguished within the Russian
Federation. Their main features are presented in the table
below. In large regions, temperature is a major constraint on
cropping.
Climatic zones in the Russian Federation
Climate
% of
Region
Temperatures
type
(ฐC)
area of
warmest coldest
country
Polar
month
5% far north
month
0
Subpolar
10% north
10
Moderately
50% half of country,
20
-20
16
-10 to -
cool
with continental
features
increasing
towards east
Moderately
cool,
2% the coast near
Japan
16
maritime
Moderately
warm
18% Moscow region
16 to 20
(continental) and
0 to 16
near the Baltic
Sea (transitional)
Moderately
10% at the shore of
20
-10
warm,
the Sea of Azov,
semi-dry
in the Volga
region and in the
southern fringes
of Siberia
Moderately
warm, dry
5% northeastern foot 20 to 25
of Caucasus up
0 to 10
to the Volga
mouth
Precipitation in the Russian Federation ranges from less than
200 mm/year at the mouth of the Volga River in the southwest
of the country, in the central part of the far east (Yakutsk), and
on the Arctic Ocean coast east of the mouth of the Lena River;
up to 1 000 mm in the mountains of the far east. The annual
precipitation ranges from 400 to 500 mm in most areas of the
European part and western Siberia, and from 300 to 400 mm in
central and eastern Siberia. The average annual precipitation
for the country as a whole is 589 mm.
River basins and surface water resources
Most of the freshwater resources of the Russian Federation are
contained in the permafrost which covers the north of the
European part and western Siberia, all central and eastern
Siberia and almost all the far east region. These resources, as
well as the glaciers in the Arctic islands, in the Ural mountains
and in the mountains of southern Siberia, are of no practical
use.
It is only possible to use the resources of rivers, lakes and
groundwater. There are 120 000 rivers over 10 km long. Their
total length within the Russian Federation equals
2.3 million km, their total discharge to the sea is estimated at
almost 4 202 km3/year and to other countries at 20.4 km3/year.
About 12.2 million km2, or 71% of the total area of the country,
drain towards the north into the Arctic Ocean; 2.4 million km2,
or 14%, drain towards the east into the Pacific Ocean; and
1.6 million km2, or 10%, drain towards the south into the
Caspian Sea. The remaining 5% drain towards the southwest
into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and towards the west
into the Baltic Sea.
Of the total annual RSWR, estimated at 4 222.24 km3,
185.54 km3 come from neighbouring countries, the remaining
4 036.7 km3 being generated inside the country (Figure 2).
The rivers of the Russian Federation freeze for from one month
in the southwest between the Caspian and the Black Sea, up to
8 months and longer in the northern part of Siberia and the far
east region.
Renewable Surface Water Resources (RSWR) by major river
basin
Name Major
of
river
region
Area of
Inter
basin
nal
Inflow
l
within total Rus. RS
The
RS
Fed. WR
WR
Russi 1000 1000 km3/ km
an
Tota Outflow
from:
km3/
to:
km2 km2 year 3/yr
year
358 358 148.
148. White
Fed.
Arctic
Ocean:
Severn North
-
aya
ern
0
0 Sea
Dvina
Pechor North
a
ern
Ob
Ural,
W.Sib
322 322 129.
-
0
2
129. Barents
0 Sea
2 364. 38. Kazakhsta 402. Kara Sea
990 330
0
0n
0
eria
Yenise Siberi
y
2 605. 25. Mongolia
580 180
630. Kara Sea
0
0
Pyasin Easter 182 182 82.0
-
82.0 Kara Sea
-
532. Laptev
a
a
2
0
n
Siberi
a
Lena
E.Sibe
ria,
2
2 532.
470 470
0
0 Sea
F.East
Khatan Easter 422 422 88.0
ga
-
n
88.0 Laptev
Sea
Siberi
a
Olenek Far
219 219 34.0
-
East
Indigirk Far
34.0 Laptev
Sea
360 360 55.0
-
55.0 East
a
East
Siberia
Sea
Kolyma Far
647 647 126.
East
-
0
126. East
0 Siberia
Sea
Other
2
rivers
2 872.
660 660
Subtota
13
l
12
-
0
872.
0
3 63. Subtotal
210 150 035.
0
3 Subtotal
098.
0
0
Pacific
Ocean:
Amur
E.Sibe
ria,
1 780 225. 10 Mongolia, 325. Sea of
855
0 0.0 China
0 Okhotsk
F.East
Kamch Far
atka
56
56 33.0
-
33.0 Pacific
191 191 53.0
-
53.0 Bering
East
Anadyr Far
East
Other
Sea
1
rivers
1 290.
412 412
Subtota
l
3
-
0
2 601. 10 Subtotal
514 439
0 0.0
290.
0
701. Subtotal
0
Caspia
n Sea:
Volga
Volga
1
360
Ural
Ural
1 230.
360
-
0
270 110 5.0
230. Caspian
0 Sea
-
5.0 Kazakhst
an
Other
160 160 20.0
-
20.0
rivers
Subtota
1
l
1 255. 0.0 Subtotal
790 630
0
255. Subtotal
0
Black/B
altic:
Dnepr
Centr
558 135 8.2
-
8.2 Belarus
al
Don
N.Cau
422 400 34.3 2.7 Ukraine
c.,
37.0 Black
Sea
C.Tch
e.
Kuban N.Cau
58
58 13.0
-
casus
Wester Centr
13.0 Black
Sea
88
8 7.2
-
7.2 Belarus
n Dvina al
Neva
North
281 220 66.0 16. Finland
82.0 Baltic
ern
Pregel Kalini
0
15
12 1.0 2.0 Lithuania, 3.0 Baltic
ngrad
Nemun Kalini
as
Poland
98
Sea
2 1.0 0.8 Lith, Belar, 1.84 Baltic
ngrad
Other
Sea
4 Poland
23
Sea
21 15.0 1.0 Estonia/La 16.0 Black/Bal
rivers
tvia/other
Subtota
l
TOTAL
RUSSI
1 856 145. 22.
543
20
7
17
54
4 18
057 075 036. 5.5
AN
7
4
tic/other
168. Subtotal
24
4 22 TOTAL
2.24 RUSSIA
N
FEDER
FEDERA
ATION
TION
Groundwater resources
The renewable groundwater resources are estimated at
788 km3/year. This figure, however, does not include resources
in the form of inland ice, glaciers and pergelisol (permafrost).
For the regions of western and eastern Siberia alone, the
quantity of ice of the arctic islands is estimated at 5 000 km3
and that of the mountain glaciers at 170 km3. The resources in
the form of pergelisol are even larger. The overlap between
surface water and groundwater resources has been estimated
at 512 km3/year.
Water resources distribution
Water resources in the Russian Federation are very unevenly
distributed in relation to the population. The European part,
where 80% of the total population lives, has 360 km3 of surface
water resources, which is about 8% of the total river runoff, and
23 km3 of groundwater resources, which is 10% of the total
renewable annual groundwater resources. In the Terek basin
draining into the Caspian Sea in the southwest (northern
Caucasus region) and in the Western Dvina basin in the west
(central region), the annual river discharge is about 2 0003 000 m3 per inhabitant, while in the Siberian and far east
basins it reaches 120 000-190 000 m3 per inhabitant. The water
resources in the densely populated Povolze (Volga region) with
its rich soils and in the black soils region (central Tchernozem)
in the European part are estimated at around
2 000 m3/inhabitant per year. The huge distances between the
Siberian and European basins make it practically impossible to
transfer water from Siberia to Europe. Transfer projects were
considered in the past but encountered several problems,
including environmental ones.
International agreements
During the Soviet period, an agreement concerning the use of
water of the Amur River was concluded with China.
Renegotiated and modified since 1991, the latest agreement
was signed in 1996. There are also agreements with other
neighbours (Poland, Finland). These are general agreements,
fixing the borders, including texts on crime issues, fishery, the
prevention of pollution in river courses, etc. There have been
no new international agreements on water sharing with the
other countries of the FSU, and the inter-republic arrangements
from the Soviet period are still in force.
Lakes and dams
There are about two million fresh- and saltwater lakes in the
Russian Federation. The largest saltwater lake is the Caspian
Sea, surrounded by the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan,
Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan. The largest freshwater lake
is Lake Baikal, located entirely within the Russian Federation in
the southeast of eastern Siberia.
Dams have been constructed on most large rivers in the
Russian Federation, mainly for electrical energy production, but
also for irrigation. There are 330 large reservoirs in use at
present, with a capacity of more than 200 million m3 each. Their
total capacity is 360 km3. There are about 3 000 medium-sized
reservoirs. The gross theoretical hydropower potential is
estimated at 2 900 000 GWh/year and the economically
feasible potential is estimated at 852 000 Gwh/yea. The
hydropower installed capacity is estimated at 40 GW.
Water withdrawal and wastewater
In 1982, the water withdrawal was 97.8 km3, while in 1994 it
had dropped to 77.1 km3 (Figure 3). This reduction in water
consumption, which concerns industrial and irrigation water
withdrawal, has been related to the difficult economic situation
in the Russian Federation, which worsened in 1990. Of the total
water withdrawal of 77.1 km3 in 1994 for domestic, agricultural
and industrial purposes, almost 20% was used for irrigation
(Figure 4).
Only a small quantity of wastewater under-goes treatment. In
1990, the quantity of produced wastewater was estimated at
about 33.9 km3, of which only 5.1 km3, or 15%, was partly or
fully treated.
Pollution in most industrial centres has reached dangerous
levels and rivers have been severely polluted. The country has
a long history of serious environmental accidents, especially in
the fuel and chemical industries.
Irrigation and drainage development
Larger scale irrigation and drainage works started at the
beginning of the eighteenth century. The main goal of the water
works was not the development of agriculture, but to use the
water to generate power for the mines and steelworks of the
southern Urals, and to drain areas near the then capital, Saint
Petersburg. However, the damming up of water in the
neighbourhood of the Urals also enabled the development of
irrigation, while the drainage works turned some of the swamps
into cultivable land. During the nineteenth century, irrigation
developed slowly, mainly outside the territory of today's
Russian Federation. In 1894, the first government land
improvement institution was established, called the Department
of Land Improvement, and water legislation was introduced in
1902. In 1916, about 214 000 ha of irrigated land and
890 000 ha of drained land were used for agriculture within the
territory of the present Russian Federation. A sudden
acceleration in drainage and irrigation work took place between
1920 and 1931, in connection with the great electrification
programme (GOELRO). Initially, electrification always had
priority over irrigation and drainage. Only in the 1950s, during
the construction of the Volga cascade reservoirs, did irrigation
become as important as hydro-electricity in water development
design. In 1967, the irrigated area was 1.62 million ha, which
was eight times the irrigated area of 1916, while the drained
area of 1.64 million ha was almost twice that of 1916. By the
end of the 1980s, every year, up to 200 000 ha of newly
irrigated areas and 160 000 ha of newly drained areas were
given for agricultural use. However, the scale of the negative
effects resulting from the drying up of swamps and from the
salinization of irrigated areas was increasing. The rhythm of
development of irrigation and drainage work slowed down at
the beginning of the 1990s.
Irrigation development
Based on climate and soil conditions, it is estimated that 1520% of the cultivable area needs irrigation in the moderately
warm dry semi-desert zone, 5-8% in the moderately warm
semi-dry steppe zone, 2-5% in the moderately warm semi-dry
forested steppe zone, and 1-2% in the moderately warm forest
zone. Figures for irrigation potential are estimated at almost
29 million ha under permanent irrigation. Other sources give a
potential of more than 74 million ha of complementary irrigation.
In 1990, irrigation covered 6.12 million ha. In 1994, however, it
had fallen to 5.16 million ha, which was equal to about 4.4% of
the cultivated area (Figure 5). One reason for the decrease has
been the economic recession. The sprinkler systems
(accounting for almost 96% of the area equipped for irrigation in
1990) are overused, and there is no maintenance and
operation system. This progressively results in the complete
destruction and subse-quent abandonment of the schemes.
Another reason might be that in the past the statistics were
overestimated; the figures for more recent years seem to be
more reliable. The largest irrigation development has taken
place in the north Caucasian and Volga regions.
Irrigation was undertaken mainly on huge sovkhoz and, to a
smaller extent, on kolkhoz. Water fees were formally introduced
in 1982, but the charge was quite insignificant and never
actually collected. Until 1996, there existed no organizational
forms of water administration for the newly created farms.
Most of the land under irrigation is commanded by reservoirs,
and open canals convey the water to the irrigation schemes.
The largest canals are: Saratovski, Donski, Magistral, Great
Stavropolski, Tersko-Kumski and Kumo-Manycki. Within the
schemes, underground pipes convey the water to the emitters
(rain guns). Sprinkler irrigation is the most widely used
technique (96% of the area), surface irrigation being used on
the remainder (Figure 6). In 1990, only 21% of the irrigated land
was equipped with a drainage system.
In 1994, irrigated crops covered almost 4.1 million ha, equal to
79% of the equipped area. Fodder represented the largest
irrigated crop area with almost 2.6 million ha, 62% of the total. It
was followed by cereals and pulses (Figure 7). Yields of
irrigated crops are higher than those of rainfed crops. Irrigated
maize yields are about 2.7 t/ha compared with 1.7 t/ha for
rainfed maize. For barley, the respective figures are 2.25 and
1.65 t/ha.
Drainage development
In 1990, the drained area was 7.4 million ha, of which almost
44% was equipped with subsurface drainage systems
(Figure 8). However, in 1994 the drained area had dropped to
about 5 million ha. This fall was due either to the breakdown of
the infrastructure because of overexploitation without proper
maintenance, or to the theft of pipes or the destruction of drains
(Figure 9). In 1994, crops were grown on 2.45 million ha of
drained land, the major crops being fodder crops followed by
cereals (Figure 10). Yields of drained crops are somewhat
lower than those of rainfed crops. This might be explained by
the fact that drained land is already of marginal quality. Soils
are very poor with a low pH and are not really suitable for
cultivation. Another reason for the low yields might be the
advanced state of degradation of large parts of the drained
land.
In 1994, about 25.6 million ha were esti-mated to be
excessively humid and marshy areas needing drainage. Over
15 million ha were estimated to be salinized and 24.3 million ha
to have saline soils (solontchak).
Institutional environment
Under the Soviet Union, the Ministry of Water Administration
(Minvodkhoz) func-tioned at the level of the Soviet Union, and
the Ministry of Land Improvement at the Russian Federation
level. After the ending of the Soviet Union, both ministries were
dissolved. The 89 administrative units of the Russian
Federation are now entitled to develop their own water
administration policy and establish suitable organs. At
federation level, two ministries are responsible for water
administration:
- The Ministry of Nature Protection, responsible for water
resources protection and water quality;
- The Ministry of Agriculture, whose activity during recent years
has concentrated on structural transformations in the
agricultural sector.
Irrigation and drainage activities are the responsibility of the
Russian Water Committee (Roskomvod), reporting to the
Ministry of Agriculture, and also of joint stock companies,
carrying out irrigation and drainage works, subordinate to the
ministry.
The State Hydrological Institute in Saint Petersburg is an
independent unit, reporting directly to the government. It
focuses not only on scientific research and estimation of water
resources, but also prepares plans for water resources
utilization and supervises their execution with regard to
resources protection.
The institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences involved in
soil and water research programmes are: the Institute of Water
Resources (Institut Vodnych Problemov RAN) and the Institute
of Geography (Institut Geografii RAN). Irrigation and drainage
techniques, land cultivation within improved areas and similar
problems are the concern of the scientific institutions reporting
to the Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
The main information centre concerning water resources and
their utilization is the `Vodinform' Agency in Moscow.
Trends in water resources management
After a period of rapid irrigation development, there was a slowdown and the area equipped for irrigation even decreased by
16% between 1990 and 1994. Even faster was the process of
degradation of irrigation equipment. During the same period the
drained area decreased by 22%. However, in this case it can
be assumed that the official data from 1990 were overstated
and that the actual drop was a little slower. The declining trend
persisted in the period 1994-96. During this period, there was
practically no new irrigation or drainage development and part
of the formerly cultivated lands was excluded from use. The
reasons have been the general difficult situation in Russian
agriculture and the low yields on irrigated and drained lands.
Large irrigated and drained areas are used for growing
unprofitable crops like fodder crops, grain and potatoes. On
irrigated areas, crop yields are higher than on rainfed land, but
the difference is not always significant. On drained areas, yields
are often even lower than those of rainfed crops.
During the last few years, there has been a decrease in crop
yields on irrigated and drained areas. One of the reasons for
this has been the rise of the Caspian Sea level. In the Povolzhe
region (Volga), this has caused groundwater levels to rise and
the flooding of fields. This process has affected 719 000 ha of
irrigated land and 563 000 ha of drained land in the districts of
Astrakhan, Volgograd, Saratov and Samara. The causes of the
rise of the Caspian Sea level have not yet been explained.
Though water management policies can be decided by the
89 administrative units themselves, most of them have not yet
prepared their future programmes. The exception is Kalmykia,
located between the mouth of the Volga River and the
Caucasus mountains. This is one of the richest parts of the
Russian Federation and large irrigation projects have been
planned for the period 1998-2003, to be irrigated mostly from
groundwater.
The Volga River is the river worst affected by pollution, as it
receives 45% of all the sewage water of the Russian
Federation. However, due to the recession, industrial activity
has decreased in recent years, resulting in less sewage water.
Main sources of information
The most complete information on the present state of irrigation
and drainage in the Russian Federation is available in statistical
yearbooks in Russian (which contain more information than the
English versions) and in the publications: Melioratsia i Vodnoe
Chozaystvo (Drainage and Water Management) and Vodnye
Resursy (Water Resources), published by the Russian
Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Ministry of
Agriculture, Publishing House: Agropromizdat.
Kopytny, L.M. 1996. Water resources of Siberia (Vodnyye
resursy Sibirii). Scholar Geography (Geografia v shkole), No 1,
pp. 15-20. Ministry of Education, Moscow. (in Russian)
Murray Fackbakh (ed.). 1995. Environmental and health atlas
of Russia. Paims, Moscow. 320 p.
Goskomstat (Russian State Committee of Statistics). 1995.
Statistical yearbook of Russia (Rossiyskiy statisticheskiy
ezegodnik). 1995. Moscow. 978 p.
Goskomstat Rosii. 1995. Agriculture in Russia (Sel'skoye
khozaystvo Rosii). Moscow. 504 p.
Ministry of Natural Environment and Resources Protection.
1994. The state of the environment and environment protection
on the ex-USSR territory (Sostoyanie okruzayushtchey sredy i
prirorookhronnaya deyatel'nost na territorii byvshego SSSR).
Moscow. 160 p. (in Russian).
Tcherneyev, A.M. et al. 1992. Water resources and water
management in Russia (Vodnyye resursy i vodnoye khozaystvo
Rosii). Drainage and Water Management (Melioratsia i
Vodnoye Khozaystvo), No 9-12, pp. 2-5,
Agropromizdat/Ministry of Agriculture, Moscow. (in Russian).